One and a Half million desperate Ukrainian refugees. Fivety British visas. It’s hard to believe.
We should keep our emotions in check during wartime, but sometimes hypocrisy can be too much. Boris Johnson is frantically, and blatantly, plopping his Churchill act through all the capitals of Europe. He makes a mockery of Vladimir Putin and promises Ukraine missiles, weapons, aid, sanctions, persecution of the oligarchs, and any other assistance that might be needed. When asked to do something concrete that could help that country, he goes back to his normal self. Keep these Ukrainians from our shores, for God’s sake. Remember the ark in the Brexit covenant.
EU countries across Europe have opened their doors. Literally, thousands of families have done this. There are no border guards. There are no wire fences. Sheafs of papers. No demands for proof that you are a person of identity and good health. These people are extremely frenzied. They could soon spread across Europe. Most will be temporary, and most will want their homes to be accessible. There are still thousands of people who need refuge further west, many of them in England because they speak the language.
Johnson made headlines when he promised to allow in 200,000 eligible Ukrainians as soon as the surge began. The definition of eligible was limited to those with immediate, direct relatives. However, this did not include the parents of anyone older than 18. Johnson made the grand concession, which he described as a concession, after a rumble in the House of Commons. Include grandparents. It is possible to get it done by the weekend EmergedJust 50 out of 5,535 online applications were granted, despite being laboriously filled out. There are more than 1,000 of them. EnterThe Republic of Ireland, which is much smaller. It is absurd.
The factory of excuses is working overtime. There are rumors that some Ukrainians do not want to settle permanently in the United States and that they must be subject to security clearance and biometric data verification. British officials reportedly told one hundred fifty of the 400 refugees who made it to Calais to go to Paris or Brussels in order to apply for visas. Ukrainians without relatives in Britain could only enter if they were sponsored by someone. Details about what this means They are still being developedWork is progressing quickly and will be communicated when it is complete. It is likely that Priti Patels officials continue to operate under Theresa May’s hostile environment policy toward immigrants. They and she are unaware of the crisis of common humanity that is looming over Europe.
It is hard to imagine a more welcoming welcome for Britain. There is no indication that the Ukrainians should have an unrestricted right to enter the country as they flee the Russian invasion. Johnson may believe it is not what British citizens want. I can hear him stating, They voted for Brexit, didn’t they?
It is difficult not to see Johnson’s electoral calculus underneath all of this. The Home Office has become institutionally xenophobic because of its obsession with stopping migration. The result is shameful. When their grandchildren ask the British today about their involvement in the great Ukrainian conflict, they will reply that Johnson ensured that we kept the foreigners out.
